Palmer High graduate helps lead South Carolina women's basketball team to Division I national title

PALMER — When Fred Chmiel took a job as an assistant coach with Temple University prior to the 2006-2007 season, Chmeil knew the chance to work with Dawn Staley, then the head coach of the Owls Division I women’s basketball program, was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Sunday, Chmiel, a 1989 graduate of Palmer High School, enjoyed the experience of a lifetime.

Chmiel, back with Staley as an assistant on the South Carolina women’s coaching staff, celebrated a national title after the Gamecocks scored a 67-55 win over Mississippi State in the NCAA Division I National Championship game.

Chmiel’s chance to be part of a national championship comes two years after he reunited with Staley, South Carolina’s head coach, prior to the 2015-2016 season. Staley gave Chmeil is first opportunity to coach at the Division I level when she added him to the Temple staff in 2006.

“I’m luck enough to be working with Dawn Staley,” Chmeil told the Frontiersman in August of 2006. “She has limitless potential within the women’s game.”

Chmiel's run with the Gamecocks marks his third time working with Staley. In addition to his two seasons at Temple, Chmiel also served as an assistant for the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting when Staley was a player for the team. South Carolina marks Chmiel's fifth stop in his Division I coaching career. Chmiel has also served as an assistant at Minnesota, Penn State and San Diego State.

Prior to graduating to the Division I level, Chmiel helped lead the San Jose Spiders to a runner-up finish in the National Women’s Basketball League in 2006. He spent the 2005 season on the Sting bench.

Chmeil, who started his coaching career in 1994, spent 11 years with a pair of men’s programs in California. He was the head coach at Lassen College from 1999-2005 and led the team to three Golden Valley Conference titles. Chmiel was an assistant coach and head coach at Feather River College, where he was also a player. He was an assistant from 1994-95, before his run as head coach from 1995-99.

Chmiel played at both Feather River and UAF. He was named All-Golden Valley Conference in 1992, and capped his career with the Nanooks in 1994.

In high school, Chmiel was a standout point guard for the Moose.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.